Corn

News about Corn, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jan. 13, 2015

Farmers harvested record 14.2 billion bushels of corn in 2014, 3 percent more than 2013 crop; harvested record 3.97 billion bushels of soybeans, up 18 percent from 2013. MORE

Aug. 28, 2014

Thieves have struck two farms in Bristol and Wethersfield, CT, taking more than $1,200 worth of corn and leaving farmers to debate ways to better safeguard their crops; two suspects have been charged for stealing corn from Anderson Farms in Wethersfield. MORE

Feb. 12, 2014

European Union is on verge of approving insect-resistant type of engineered corn for cultivation, despite opposition from many member countries; opponents of genetically modified crops fail to muster sufficient support to block authorization under EU's complex weighted voting system; even if corn gets go-ahead for cultivation, it will remain a sensitive issue for Europe and the United States during trade talks. MORE

Feb. 5, 2014

Growing number of Midwestern corn farmers are beginning to plant fruits and vegetables instead. MORE

Oct. 8, 2013

Hawaii has become hub for development of genetically engineered corn and other crops that are sold to farmers worldwide, and seeds are state's leading agricultural commodity; activists opposed to biotech crops have joined with residents who say corn farms expose them to dust and pesticides, and they are trying to drive companies away, or at least rein them in. MORE

Oct. 1, 2013

Bacterial disease known as Goss’s wilt is devastating corn crops across United States; scientists are uncertain why disease has become so rampant, but some speculate that it may be connected to hybrids chosen for genetic modification or farm management methods like no-till farming or infrequent crop rotation. MORE

Jun. 13, 2013

Department of Agriculture predicts record corn and soybean yields in 2013, despite intense spring showers that have delayed planting, damaged crops already in the ground and prevented farmers from sowing all their seeds; projections are base on estimates made before heavy rains came about how many acres of crops will be planted. MORE

Nov. 17, 2012

Environmental Protection Agency rejects requests from states to relax its requirement on the use of corn ethanol in gasoline related to a steep decline in the nation's corn production. MORE

Oct. 30, 2012

Income from 'agritainment' activities like corn mazes, which are tricked out with zip lines, live zombie scarecrows and corn cannons, is helping small farmers across the country keep their farms; money earned by admitting people into the hundreds of corn mazes that rise up each autumn can be more lucrative than agriculture businesses themselves, enabling farmers to make a living and not have to neglect or sell their farms. MORE

Oct. 24, 2012

Corn producers are considering a switch to the production of butanol, fuel that contains more energy and is easier to transport than traditional ethanol; decision remains daunting because shift requires costly retrofitting of ethanol plants, and results in reduced plant capacity. MORE

Oct. 12, 2012

Agriculture Department revises its estimates for soybean production upward, sign that prolonged drought had less of an impact on the crop than had been feared; report lowers estimates for production of corn, country's largest cash crop. MORE

Sep. 20, 2012

Study by Gilles-Eric Seralini, prominent opponent of genetically engineered crops, links genetically engineered corn to cancer in rats; corn was developed by Monsanto to be resistant to herbicide Roundup; study is criticized by some scientists, but is seized on by backers of a California ballot measure to require labeling for genetically modified crops. MORE

Sep. 13, 2012

Agriculture Department slightly lowers its forecast of corn and soybean yields for the third time in three months, as record heat continues to batter crops in the Midwest; corn yield is expected to be 122.8 bushels an acre, while soybean production is expected to be 2.634 billion bushels. MORE

Aug. 17, 2012

Corn farming, meat production and biofuel industries are sparring over the Agriculture Department’s ethanol quota as a drought ravages corn crops; at issue is whether to suspend a five-year-old federal mandate requiring more ethanol in gasoline each year, a policy that has diverted almost half of the domestic corn supply from animal feedlots to ethanol refineries, driven up corn prices and plantings and created a desperate competition for corn. MORE

Aug. 8, 2012

Op-Ed article by Prof William G Moseley charges that massive drought in the Midwest underscores America's dangerous over-reliance on corn, which is highly susceptible to drought, as well as the need to diversify its crops; holds country's vulnerable agri-food system can be changed by retooling federal farm and corn-based ethanol subsidy programs. MORE

Aug. 8, 2012

Elaine Louie Sprouts column about Wade Burch, an executive chef, giving his daughters a hands-on lesson in corn shucking and making corn chowder, even if ultimately only one of them eats it. MORE

Jul. 31, 2012

Op-Ed article by Prof Colin A Carter and Dr Henry I Miller calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily suspend its renewable fuel standards, move that would divert vast amounts of corn from inefficient ethanol production back into the food market; holds shift is crucial in light of Midwestern drought and skyrocketing food prices. MORE

Jul. 20, 2012

National Weather Service announces that widespread drought is likely to grow worse, spelling an even darker fate for farmers whose crops have already started to wither; corn and soybeans have been particularly hard-hit by the drought, and their prices have begun to soar. MORE

Jul. 5, 2012

Sweltering temperatures and a lack of rain are threatening what was expected to be a bountiful corn harvest across the Midwest; drought conditions are especially dangerous as corn approaches its crucial pollination phase. MORE

Apr. 26, 2012

Dow Chemical is on the verge of winning regulatory approval for corn that is genetically engineered to be immune to 2,4-D herbicide, allowing farmers to spray the chemical to kill weeds without harming the corn stalks; some environmental and consumer groups say the increased use of 2,4-D could cause cancer, hormone disruption and other health problems. MORE

Apr. 23, 2012

Study in Nature Climate Change finds climate change is likely to have greater influence on volatility of corn prices over the next three decades than factors that have been blamed for price swings; suggests unless American farmers develop more heat-tolerant corn varieties or move production into Canada, frequent heat waves will cause sharp price spikes. MORE

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The expansion of biofuels has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Nowhere, perhaps, is that squeeze more obvious than in Guatemala.